Thrall, born Go'el son of Durotan, was the former Warchief of the restored orcish Horde and ruler of Durotar in Kalimdor. He was the Horde Warchief before the Cataclysm, but he gave Garrosh Hellscream temporary leadership to help the Earthen Ring defeat the Twilight Hammer cult who was waging an elemental war with Azeroth.
Thrall is a shaman. Shamans are defined as "spiritual guides and practitioners, not of the divine, but of the very elements. Unlike some other mystics, shaman commune with forces that are not strictly benevolent. The elements are chaotic, and left to their own devices, they rage against one another in unending primal fury. It is the call of the shaman to bring balance to this chaos. Acting as moderators among earth, fire, water, and air, shaman summon totems that focus the elements to support the shaman’s allies or punish those who threaten them." - World of Warcraft official site. He is a character in the video game World of Warcraft, and you can see him in game as well as reading about him in one of their many Warcraft novels.
Chapter 4 - The Self and Interaction Multiple Roles and Role Conflict (page 117):
role: the set of behaviors expected of someone because of his or her status
role conflict: experienced when we occupy two or more roles with contradictory expectations
role strain: the tension experienced when there are contradictory expectations within one role
role exit: the process of leaving a role that we will no longer occupy
Thrall has had multiple roles in his life. He was a slave in his youth, and he later escaped and became the Warchief for the Horde. Being Warchief means that he leads all five races that make up the Horde, this duty is obviously very time consuming and does not leave much time to do other things such as saving all of Azeroth from Deathwing and the Cataclysm. He did not step down from Warchief right away, but he was experiencing way too much role strain to continue to do both. After giving it much thought, Thrall decided to hand over his title as Warchief so he could join the Earthen Ring (a group of talented shamans dedicated to saving Azeroth from the Cataclysm) in order to save not only the Horde but also all of Azeroth. Because of the role conflict between leading the Horde and also being the savior of Azeroth, Thrall had to exit the role of being the Warchief. Both roles required all of his attention so there was no way he could continue to do both and succeed.
Chapter 6 - Deviance Crime and Punishment (pages 169, 172):
crime: a violation of a norm that has been codified into law
capital punishment: the death penalty
During Thrall's time as the Warchief of the Horde and leader of the orcs, he was in charge of determining the punishment if someone committed a crime. Since Azeroth is way different than our world, they did not keep people in jail. It was more archaic. They did stuff like torture war criminals, keep you in stocks for days, and if the crime was severe they even considered capital punishment. Thrall is a very wise and honorable shaman, and he was not as brutish as most leaders. He is very forgiving and unless the crime committed is serious he is usually willing to go go easy, but this does not mean he is to be taken advantage of. In cases of serious crime, he will turn to capital punishment (orc version) and either send the criminal to be judged by the elements in The Barrens or he will execute them himself with his Doomhammer.
Chapter 8 - Race and Ethnicity as Lived
race: a socially defined category based on real or perceived biological differences between groups of people (page 217)
prejudice: an idea about the characteristics of a group that is applied to all members of that group and is unlikely to change regardless of evidence against it (page 222)
discrimination: unequal treatment of individuals based on their membership in a social group; motivated by prejudice (page 222)
In Azeroth, there are thirteen different race which are divided into two factions. The horde is made up of orcs, trolls, undead, tauren, blood elves, and goblins. The alliance is made up of night elves, humans, gnomes, dwarves, draenei, and worgen. The thirteenth race is the pandaren which are free to choose which faction they want to be apart of. The horde and alliance are at war with each other, and as a result a strong hatred has formed between the two factions. When Thrall was a baby, he was taken by a human commander who ran orc internment camps during the Second War. This is where Thrall was named, and in the human language his name means "slave." The humans used the orcs as laborers and entertainment. Because the humans are prejudice against orcs, they think they are savage creatures that they can use as entertainment, so they pitted the orcs against each other like gladiators. They were treated like animals, and the humans did not see them as equals and did not care about their conditions of living.
Chapter 10 - The Macro-Micro Link in Social Institutions
belief: a proposition or idea held on the basis of faith (page 303)
Thrall is a shaman, so this means he is very spiritual. Shamans are usually spiritual leaders in their communities because they are essentially the mortal mediators for the elements themselves. They can also communicate with their ancestors and they can have visions. They use the elements to aid them against enemies and to help their allies. Thrall is apart of the Earthen Ring which is an organization of shamans who are dedicated to studying and preserving the elements. During the cataclysm, they were essential to saving Azeroth. Chapter 12 - Life at Home: Families and Relationships
family: a social group whose members are bound by legal, biological, or emotional ties, or a combination of all three (page 353)
Thrall is a part of the orc clan called the Frostwolf clan. His parents were murdered when he was a baby, and he was found by a human commander. After Thrall managed to escape, he went looking for Grom Hellscream who was able to tell him that the swaddling cloth Thrall had kept was from the Frostwolf clan. He eventually went on a journey to find the Frostwolf clan so he could find his family. After exhausting himself, he was found by Drek'thar who told him he was the son of Durotan, the former Frostwolf chieftain. Thrall met his future wife and mother of his son when he first began his trek as a shaman. His grandmother told him that if he wanted to truly be connected to the elements then she was the shaman to help him. She was an important role in helping him defeat the Twilight Hammer cult and stopping Deathwing from destroying Azeroth, and over time the two grew close. He now resides in Orgrimmar with Aggra and their son, Durak.
Thrall, born Go'el son of Durotan, was the former Warchief of the restored orcish Horde and ruler of Durotar in Kalimdor. He was the Horde Warchief before the Cataclysm, but he gave Garrosh Hellscream temporary leadership to help the Earthen Ring defeat the Twilight Hammer cult who was waging an elemental war with Azeroth.
Thrall is a shaman. Shamans are defined as "spiritual guides and practitioners, not of the divine, but of the very elements. Unlike some other mystics, shaman commune with forces that are not strictly benevolent. The elements are chaotic, and left to their own devices, they rage against one another in unending primal fury. It is the call of the shaman to bring balance to this chaos. Acting as moderators among earth, fire, water, and air, shaman summon totems that focus the elements to support the shaman’s allies or punish those who threaten them." - World of Warcraft official site. He is a character in the video game World of Warcraft, and you can see him in game as well as reading about him in one of their many Warcraft novels.
Read more about Thrall here and here.
Chapter 4 - The Self and Interaction
Multiple Roles and Role Conflict (page 117):
Thrall has had multiple roles in his life. He was a slave in his youth, and he later escaped and became the Warchief for the Horde. Being Warchief means that he leads all five races that make up the Horde, this duty is obviously very time consuming and does not leave much time to do other things such as saving all of Azeroth from Deathwing and the Cataclysm. He did not step down from Warchief right away, but he was experiencing way too much role strain to continue to do both. After giving it much thought, Thrall decided to hand over his title as Warchief so he could join the Earthen Ring (a group of talented shamans dedicated to saving Azeroth from the Cataclysm) in order to save not only the Horde but also all of Azeroth. Because of the role conflict between leading the Horde and also being the savior of Azeroth, Thrall had to exit the role of being the Warchief. Both roles required all of his attention so there was no way he could continue to do both and succeed.
Chapter 6 - Deviance
Crime and Punishment (pages 169, 172):
During Thrall's time as the Warchief of the Horde and leader of the orcs, he was in charge of determining the punishment if someone committed a crime. Since Azeroth is way different than our world, they did not keep people in jail. It was more archaic. They did stuff like torture war criminals, keep you in stocks for days, and if the crime was severe they even considered capital punishment. Thrall is a very wise and honorable shaman, and he was not as brutish as most leaders. He is very forgiving and unless the crime committed is serious he is usually willing to go go easy, but this does not mean he is to be taken advantage of. In cases of serious crime, he will turn to capital punishment (orc version) and either send the criminal to be judged by the elements in The Barrens or he will execute them himself with his Doomhammer.
Chapter 8 - Race and Ethnicity as Lived
In Azeroth, there are thirteen different race which are divided into two factions. The horde is made up of orcs, trolls, undead, tauren, blood elves, and goblins. The alliance is made up of night elves, humans, gnomes, dwarves, draenei, and worgen. The thirteenth race is the pandaren which are free to choose which faction they want to be apart of. The horde and alliance are at war with each other, and as a result a strong hatred has formed between the two factions. When Thrall was a baby, he was taken by a human commander who ran orc internment camps during the Second War. This is where Thrall was named, and in the human language his name means "slave." The humans used the orcs as laborers and entertainment. Because the humans are prejudice against orcs, they think they are savage creatures that they can use as entertainment, so they pitted the orcs against each other like gladiators. They were treated like animals, and the humans did not see them as equals and did not care about their conditions of living.
Chapter 10 - The Macro-Micro Link in Social Institutions
Thrall is a shaman, so this means he is very spiritual. Shamans are usually spiritual leaders in their communities because they are essentially the mortal mediators for the elements themselves. They can also communicate with their ancestors and they can have visions. They use the elements to aid them against enemies and to help their allies. Thrall is apart of the Earthen Ring which is an organization of shamans who are dedicated to studying and preserving the elements. During the cataclysm, they were essential to saving Azeroth.
Chapter 12 - Life at Home: Families and Relationships
Thrall is a part of the orc clan called the Frostwolf clan. His parents were murdered when he was a baby, and he was found by a human commander. After Thrall managed to escape, he went looking for Grom Hellscream who was able to tell him that the swaddling cloth Thrall had kept was from the Frostwolf clan. He eventually went on a journey to find the Frostwolf clan so he could find his family. After exhausting himself, he was found by Drek'thar who told him he was the son of Durotan, the former Frostwolf chieftain. Thrall met his future wife and mother of his son when he first began his trek as a shaman. His grandmother told him that if he wanted to truly be connected to the elements then she was the shaman to help him. She was an important role in helping him defeat the Twilight Hammer cult and stopping Deathwing from destroying Azeroth, and over time the two grew close. He now resides in Orgrimmar with Aggra and their son, Durak.